Alex BorgAlex Borg

Alex Borg’s run at the Welsh Open came to an end after he was beaten by Scottish player John Higgins 4-0 in Cardiff last night.

The Malta champion struggled to offer a stern challenge to the four-time world champion who showed his class by winning all four frames played at the Motorpoint Arena.

Higgins will now face Chinese player Liang Wengbo for a place in the quarter-finals.

The day had started on a better note for Borg who earlier had hit a century break in the decisive frame to overcome Jamie Burnett 4-3 in the first round.

After losing the opening frame 85-28, the Malta champion clicked into gear, taking the next two frames to surge 2-1 ahead.

Burnett soon restored parity when taking the fourth frame and moved just one point from victory when winning the fifth 63-28.

But Borg refused to lie down and forced a decider when winning the sixth frame 88-0 before rounding off a fine recovery when hitting an impressive run of 119 to seal his passage to the second round.

Tony Drago, the other Maltese player in the tournament, failed to advance after going down 4-0 to English player Peter Ebdon.

Meanwhile, defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan came from 2-0 down to beat Rory McLeod 4-2 and reach the last 32.

O’Sullivan was made to work hard by McLeod, who missed a tricky green when he had a chance to go 3-0 up.

That proved the turning point as O’Sullivan recovered to 2-1 then reeled off the last three frames with top breaks of 94 and 106.

Today, the Rocket meets Matthew Stevens, a 4-3 winner over Ken Doherty.

Welshman Jamie Jones raised a cheer from the home fans with a 4-3 victory over Masters champion Shaun Murphy. It was Murphy who made the better breaks with 102, 117 and 70, but Jones won the scrappy frames and got the better of a tense decider by clearing from green to pink.

“I know Shaun has been playing very well, but I thought that he can’t keep playing like that,” said Jones. “I felt that if I could play my game and put him under pressure, he might miss a few. .

“I’ll just go home and practise now and get ready for Wednesday. I play my best snooker on the big stage. I have struggled in the qualifiers but I have proved that when I play on TV I relish the occasion.”

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